Not all streaky brown birds are impossible to identify: Take a closer look at this one and you’ll see an understated but distinctive sparrow with a short tail, small head, and telltale yellow spot before the eye. Savannah Sparrows are one of the most numerous songbirds in North America, and while sometimes overlooked, are likely visitors across the continent.

Let us know what you spot. The rules are simple – you must see the bird in, or from, the park. And you must be able to identify it or tell us where and how you saw it. (If we can’t ID it, there are several Maple Leaf neighbors who can.)

We’re expecting Osprey and swallows soon. (And tomorrow, bunnies!)

Actually, another new species was spotted recently at the park, but we decided not to list it. Under birds.

Not all streaky brown birds are impossible to identify: Take a closer look at this one and you’ll see an understated but distinctive sparrow with a short tail, small head, and telltale yellow spot before the eye. Savannah Sparrows are one of the most numerous songbirds in North America, and while sometimes overlooked, are likely visitors across the continent.

Let us know what you spot. The rules are simple – you must see the bird in, or from, the park. And you must be able to identify it or tell us where and how you saw it. (If we can’t ID it, there are several Maple Leaf neighbors who can.)

We’re expecting Osprey and swallows soon. (And tomorrow, bunnies!)

Actually, another new species was spotted recently at the park, but we decided not to list it. Under birds.

April 17th, 2014 by Mike

On Fifth Avenue Northeast across from the Northgate branch library.

Update: A newly released Elway Poll finds that 74 percent of voters statewide surveyed last week said they supported higher local taxes for roads and 60 percent said they supported higher taxes for transit.

Note these are statewide findings, not just in King County where Prop. 1 is on the ballot.

Earlier this week our news partner The Seattle Times ran an explainer outlining the pros and cons of the proposal.

Among other things, it delves into the questions over bus drivers’ pay.

The proposal calls for a $60 car-tab fee and a tenth-of-a-cent sales-tax increase for roads and buses.

Voters are being asked to approve Proposition 1, which calls for a sales-tax boost of 0.1 percent, or a dime per $100 purchase; plus a yearly $60 car-tab fee, to replace a $20 fee that expires this summer. Metro would get 60 percent, while the remaining 40 percent would be split among city and county street departments.

Crosscut also has two quite different takes on the election. Conservative commentator and one-time gubernatorial candidate John Carlson argues against it here. Frustrated residents of First Hill – including Tom Gibbs, Metro’s first director – argue the opposite here.

It’s worth noting that the Seattle City Council is now considering an election later this year that would double the city’s parks levy, raising the annual cost for the owner of a $400,000 home from $76 to $168.

It would both maintain existing parks and add new ones, as well as fund new programs.

And a relative newcomer, Lux Communities, has planned an egg hunt in the Maple Leaf Reservoir Park.

Lux Communities and Lux Coffee Company will be sponsoring a FREE Community Egg Hunt on April 19th from 11 a.m.- 1 p.m. at the Maple Leaf Reservoir Park.

The Egg Hunt will have age graded opportunities for children 2-10 yrs. of age (roughly). It will be gathering at the Roosevelt and 85th Street side of the park. This event has been approved by the Seattle Parks Department

April 14th, 2014 by Mike

A 17-year-old woman was hit and killed by a pickup truck on Fifth Avenue Northeast this morning, police say.

It happened about 8:15 a.m. as she crossed at Northeast 115th Street, according to a police press release.

Seattle Fire Department Medics and Seattle Police responded to the collision. Medics determined that the 17-year-old female pedestrian died at the scene.

As is protocol, a Drug Recognition Expert (DRE) officer responded and evaluated the adult driver of the Ford. It was determined that the driver was not impaired. The driver was released from the scene pending further investigation. Detectives from the Traffic Collision Investigation Squad responded and began their investigation. This remains an active and on-going investigation.

April 10th, 2014 by Mike

UPDATE: 1:20 p.m. |A team of CenturyLink technicians is investigating the cause of a hours-long interruption of 911 services across Washington early today.

“This is very serious. Our customers’ safety is our top priority,” said Jan Kampbell, CenturyLink’s spokeswoman for Western Washington.

The service interruption was detected about 1 a.m., and by 8 a.m., the company reported that service was fully restored to all 911 centers. During the interruption, some calls to 911 did go through to emergency services, but other calls got only a busy signal, Kampbell said.

Early reports linked the problem to a service interruption in Sheridan, Ore., but Kampbell said that was a separate and unrelated problem.

Update 7:52 a.m. King County says 9-1-1 restored.

Update 7:15 a.m. CenturyLink says 9-1-1 restored.

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At 4:50 a.m. King County announced that the 9-1-1 emergency dispatch system is down in Oregon and Washington, including King County.

If you have an emergency and are unable to get through to 9-1-1, call the following phone numbers in King County for your location.

Seattle: 206-583-2111

From the Associated Press/Seattle Times:

Emergency 911 service is down in most of the state of Washington.

A spokeswoman for CenturyLink, Kerry Zimmer, says the problem began about 1:30 a.m. Thursday at Sheridan, Ore., and Oregon was affected for a time.

She says the outage affects 911 dispatch centers throughout the state of Washington.

CenturyLink is working to find the cause of the problem and fix it.

At this time, there is no estimate for service restoration.

In the meantime, Zimmer recommends that people with an emergency try a 911 call from a cell phone, which sometimes works better than a land line.

April 8th, 2014 by Mike

“Northgate Nan” emails this afternoon:

I saw this Seattle Police van parked yesterday afternoon and two officers walking east on Northgate Way from the complex where FedEx is. It looked like they were stopping in to the businesses along the way. I thought this might be good for folks to know about with all the trouble going on lately.